Roundup of Recent Non-Sudan Items

Links to various items from, in almost all cases, the past day:

(See also, most recently, last night's batch.)

"US Creates Military Command for Africa" (by VOA's Al Pessin)

"Gates: Africa Command Will Give US More Effective Approach to Continent" (also by Al Pessin; related)

"US to get Africa command centre" (BBC; related)

"US to create new military command for Africa" (Reuters; related)

"Bush confirms plan to create US command in Africa" (AP, reprinted on Sudan Tribune; related)

"With eye on Al-Qaeda, US creates Africa military command" (AFP; related)

"France leads global push to protect child soldiers" (Reuters)

"Nations make child soldier pledge" (BBC; related)

"Paris conference on child soldiers concludes with commitment to stop the recruitment of children" (UNICEF press release; related)

"Paris conference makes historic commitment to liberate children from war" ("official" UNICEF story; related)

"Africa faces huge task to close poverty gap: World Bank" (by AFP's Fran Blandy)

"Africa can use technology for leap in growth - W. Bank" (Reuters; related)

"CERF 'wasteful' of donor funding - Save the Children" (IRIN)

"France says time to turn page on colonial past" (Reuters)

"World Vision Statement on President's U.S. Budget Request" (press release)

"Aid groups say Bush budget skimps on hunger relief" (Reuters; semi-related)

"UNICEF issues call to eliminate female genital mutilation/cutting within a generation" (press release)

"Parents turn to clinics for genital mutilation - UN" (by Reuters' Evelyn Leopold; semi-related)

"Banned, Censored, Harassed and Jailed; 45 Writers from 22 Countries Receive Hellman/Hammett Grants" (HRW press release)

"Ethiopians parade captured Islamist cleric in Somalia" (Reuters)

"Bush Somalia Policy Questioned in Congress" (VOA)

"AU gets 4 000 troops for Somalia" (AP; related)

"Militias strike presidential palace in Somali capital" (DPA)

"Unknown attackers fire mortar near Somali presidential residence, says official" (AP; related)

"Somali Muslim activist takes on radical Islamists" (by VOA's Cole Mallard; concerning Ayaan Hirsi Ali)

"Ethiopian PM embraces 'strong developmental state'" (AFP)

"Ethiopia looks east to slip reins of western orthodoxy" (by William Wallis of the "Financial Times"; related)

"Sailing for Freedom" (IRC item; concerning Eritrea and Saudi Arabia)

"Authorities again harass opposition weekly Le Renouveau" (RSF press release; concerning Djibouti)

"Ugandan president encourages countrymen to go and work in Iraq" (AP)

"Leading AIDS Researcher Killed in Kenyan Carjacking" (by VOA's Alisha Ryu)

"UNEP boss says no plans to move office from Kenya" (Reuters)

"Kenyan village battered by rising tides" (BBC)

"Kenya's Kibaki launches new anti-graft plan" (by Reuters' Wangui Kanina)

"Ancient skeleton focus of modern debate" (AP; also concerning Kenya)

"Rift Valley Fever jumps from Kenya to Tanzania" (by Reuters' Jeremy Clarke)

"Viral fever spreads, killing two in Arusha" (IRIN; related)

"North African olive farmers press European giants" (Reuters)

"W. Africa accepts year-end EU trade deal deadline" (by Reuters' Ingrid Melander)

"Patrols off West Africa target would-be migrants" (AP)

"Migrant boat left stranded off West Africa" (Reuters)

"Mauritania food aid for migrants" (BBC; related)

"Mauritania Red Crescent sends aid to stranded migrant boat" (AP; related)

"Guinea unions give Conte ultimatum over premier" (by Saliou Samb, for Reuters)

"Union deadline for Guinea leader" (BBC; related)

"Guinea, Guinea Bissau Alliance Plays Role in Union Conflict" (by VOA's Kari Barber)

"Gambian reporter said to be in state custody; CPJ seeks release" (advocacy letter)

"Ivory Coast Direct Dialogue Takes Slow Approach" (by VOA's Nico Colombant)

"British lawyers gather evidence against Dutch company over Ivory Coast toxic waste scandal" (AP)

"Son of ex-Liberian president seeks dismissal of charges" (SAPA/AP)

"Ghana opposition party boycotts parliament in protest" (DPA)

"Ghana jails ex-minister for 10 years for fraud" (Reuters)

"Cameroon cracks down on poachers" (VOA)

"Cause of Capsized Boat in Cameroon Still Unknown" (by VOA's Gilbert da Costa)

"Oil Worker Kidnapped in Nigeria's Delta Region" (by VOA's Sarah Simpson)

"Nigerian gunmen abduct Filipino worker" (by Reuters' Austin Ekeinde; related)

"Nigeria oil gunmen seize Filipino" (BBC; related)

"Gunmen kidnap Filipino in southern Nigeria" (AFP; related)

"Gunmen abduct expat in south-east Nigeria" (DPA; related)

"Gunmen kidnap Filipino from convoy in latest Nigeria oil-region violence" (AP; related)

"Obasanjo Skips Meeting With Nigeria Oil Workers Unions" (VOA [newer])

"Unions to Meet President Obasanjo Today" (by VOA's James Butty [from earlier]; related)

"Nigeria's angry oil militant in court" (by the BBC's Senan Murray)

"Lagos, home to Nigeria's mega city, rejects census figures" (AFP)

"Lagos rejects Nigeria census, says has 17.5 million" (by Reuters' Tume Ahemba; related)

"DR Congo Names 60-Member Government" (by VOA's Franz Wild)

"Relief at new DR Congo government" (BBC; related)

"DR Congo gets new government; Kabila supporters take most spots" (DPA; related)

"DR Congo forms new Cabinet" (AP; related)

"Kabila names new DRC government" (SAPA/AFP; related)

"Floods kill 10, displace hundreds in northwest" (IRIN; concerning Rwanda)

"WFP & NGOs warn of looming food crisis facing 2 million flood victims" (press release; concerning Burundi)

"WFP: Burundi Flood Victims at Crisis Point" (by VOA's Lisa Schlein; related)

"Food crisis looms after floods in Burundi" (SAPA/AFP; related)

"Burundi floods 'put 2m at risk'" (BBC; related)

"Divisions grow in Burundi ruling party" (AFP)

"Burundi's footballing president" (BBC)

"Zanzibar police ban veiled drivers; Muslims angry" (Reuters)

"Anger at Zanzibar veil driver ban" (BBC; related)

"Former Tanzanian Leader Sworn In as Deputy UN Secretary-General" (VOA)

"Tanzanian becomes UN deputy secretary general" (SAPA/DPA; related)

"Red Cross programme threatened by funding" (IRIN PlusNews; concerning southern Africa)

"Mozambicans evacuated after heavy floods" (SABC)

"Pressure set to mount on Mugabe as Zimbabwe prices surge" (by Reuters' Nelson Banya)

"Zim prices quadruple in a week" (SAPA; related)

"White farmers can stay to harvest their crops" (IRIN; also concerning Zimbabwe)

"'Respite' for Zimbabwe's farmers" (BBC; related)

"Zim to arrest defiant white farmers" (SAPA; related)

"Zimbabwe's top court dismisses bail application for security expert" (DPA)

"Zim media commission renews Ncube licences" (South Africa's "Mail & Guardian")

"Zimbabwe Teachers' Strike Continues; Union Alleges State Intimidation" (VOA's "Studio 7 for Zimbabwe")

"Zimbabwe Students, Protesting Fees, Clash With Police In Bulawayo" (also VOA's "Studio 7 for Zimbabwe")

"Striking Zimbabwe Nurses Face Charges Of Causing 'Disturbance'" (also VOA's "Studio 7 for Zimbabwe")

"Zimbabwe's Mutambara Vows Defiance Against Election Postponement" (also VOA's "Studio 7 for Zimbabwe")

"Zimbabwe's splintered opposition seeks to unite against Mugabe" (AFP; related)

"Zimbabwean opposition launches defiance campaign" (DPA; related)

"China's Hu seals economic ties in S. Africa" (Reuters)

"Key Africa visit for China's Hu" (BBC; related)

"China's Hu promises win-win partnership in South Africa" (AFP; related)

"Chinese president arrives in South Africa to sign trade protocols" (AP; related)

"Hu and Mbeki forge ahead with closer ties" ("Financial Times"; related)

"We’re not ’colonisers’: China" (SAPA/AFP; related)

"Hu wraps up Namibia visit" (also SAPA/AFP; related)

"Loan for Namibia on Hu's African swing" (also SAPA/AFP; related)

"S. Africa orders probe into botched HIV gel trials" (Reuters)

"Most children living on the edge" (IRIN; also concerning South Africa)

"SA's kids living under the breadline" ("Pretoria News"; related)

"Group calls for more research on sexual violence" (IRIN PlusNews; also concerning South Africa)

"Alleged Air Botswana skyjacker defends his action" (SABC; also concerning South Africa)